Have these two missed the boat in F1?

Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg were once set to take Formula 1 by storm, but now find themselves stuck firmly in the midfield. BEN ANDERSON examines why neither has yet secured a top drive in F1

There once was a time when Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg each potentially had the Formula 1 world at their feet.

Hulkenberg, now 27, won everything there is to win at the junior levels and remains the last driver to win the GP2 title in his rookie season back in 2009. Grosjean, 29, suffered a false start to his F1 career that same year (replacing Nelson Piquet Jr at Renault) and had a crash-strewn return in 2012, but by the end of '13 he looked to be the only driver capable of carrying the fight to the dominant Red Bulls.